The City of Brussels will lose just under €3 million in revenue as it had to temporarily extend the exploitation license for the Grand Casino due to an ongoing case at the Council of State.
The Brussels Grand Casino is currently operated by the Austrian gambling company Casinos Austria, with the license expiring at the end of the year. After a bidding procedure, the local government decided to award the license to Napoleon Games for the upcoming 15 years.
Casinos Austria filed a complaint about the decision, alongside a complaint by opposition member Benoit Hellings (Ecolo/Groen) directed at the role of Mayor Philippe Close (PS).
Hellings alleged a breach of the code of professional conduct and ethics, as Close holds a seat on the board of directors of football club RSC Anderlecht, which is sponsored by the Napoleon Games, and did not abstain from the vote on the licence.
"No politician responsible would risk a contract worth €750 million for a sponsor on a jersey," Close's spokesperson told The Brussels Times at the time. "The offers were analysed by a committee of experts, where Mayor Close played no role, and the offer of Napoleon Games was deemed the best according to the criteria. The city of Brussels followed the advice of the committee."
Casinos Austria appealed to the Council of State, which suspended the award of the licence to Napoleon Games at the end of August.
As part of the appeal procedure, the European Commission had to make a ruling on whether all initial candidates for the licence were compliant with the market regulation.
As this ruling will be given on 15 November, the current operating licence could have run out before a definitive decision had been made, putting the 286 jobs at the Casino at risk.
Brussels decided on Thursday to temporarily extend the current licence for a period of six months. Casinos Austria will pay €2.3 million for the period, half of the €4.6 million yearly fee agreed in the contract.
As the yearly fee in the new exploitation licence was set at €10 million, the Brussels government will miss out on €2.7 million in revenue in the first half of 2027.
